Header image of wall of bricks Open menu Close menu

poikilo-

Variegated; variable.

Greek poikilos, variegated, varied.

In medicine, poikilocytosis (Greek kutos, vessel) is the presence of abnormally shaped red cells (poikilocytes) in the blood; poikiloderma (Greek derma, dermat‑, skin, hide) is a condition in which the skin atrophies and becomes pigmented, giving it a mottled appearance. A poikilotherm (Greek thermē, heat) is a cold-blooded organism, which cannot regulate its body temperature except by behavioural means such as basking or burrowing; in geology, poikiloblastic (Greek blastos, germ, sprout) denotes the texture of a metamorphic rock in which small crystals of an original mineral occur within crystals of its metamorphic product.

Copyright © Michael Quinion 2008–. All rights reserved. Your comments are very welcome.